Conan: Above all force, there is truth!

"What on earth... happened?"

Soon after, Jubei put the bear cub on his back and prepared to head deeper into the woods.

Before leaving, Jubei stared intently at Ryūno for a few seconds with his only remaining eye.

Seeing Jubei leave, Saiga Matasaburo began to explain the events to everyone.

He shot and killed the hunter because he had hanged one of Jubei's children from a tree after killing him.

They intended to use this as bait to lure Jubei to the scene, and then shoot and kill him.

Chapter 129, 356A

This behavior is cruel, even to a hunter.

Just like releasing fish fry back into the water when fishing, hunters traversing the forests also follow an unwritten rule: "Unless forced, they will not easily hunt animal cubs or pregnant animals."

For professional hunters, hunting is for survival, not for the cruelty of animals.

Moreover, Jubei saved Saiga Matasaburo's life twenty years ago.

It was because he saved him that Jubei had his left eye shot out by another hunter.

This incident greatly affected Saiga Matasaburo, and he gave up bear hunting as a result.

He even transformed from a hunter into an "animal protector".

From that day on, he always followed behind Jubei.

As soon as Jubei is spotted, he will shoot at him to drive him away from human sight.

He continued this behavior for twenty years.

To him, Jubei was not only a friend, but also a source of spiritual support.

Therefore, when he saw Jubei howling and using his claws to dart at the bear cub's carcass tied to the tree, he was enraged and pointed his gun at the hunter standing nearby...

After hearing Saiga Matsusaburo's story, everyone understood his motive.

While everyone could understand his anger, killing someone to save a bear seemed like the act of an extreme animal rights activist...

After understanding the motive for the murder, everyone's faces showed complicated expressions.

However, Longye's expression did not change at all.

After all, compared to all sorts of outrageous motives for murder, he even felt that the old man's motive for murder was quite reasonable.

—Unable to accept that her boyfriend was no longer playing the role of an angel, she killed him.

Unable to accept the president's plan to switch to making Western-style desserts, he killed him.

My friend gave my entry a bad review, so I killed him.

and many more…

Compared to those bizarre reasons for murder, this old man's reason is somewhat plausible.

Shortly afterward, the police arrived at the scene and took Saiga Matasaburo away.

Longye and the others also returned to the inn.

As the sky grew noticeably darker, Genta's stomach let out a rumble.

Seeing this, everyone realized it was already dinnertime.

However, due to the previous incident, the matsutake mushrooms that everyone picked had long since been thrown away somewhere.

At this moment, Ryuno patted Ai Haibara's head and said with a smile, "Don't worry. I've already spoken to the innkeeper, and they'll prepare a sumptuous 'matsutake mushroom feast' for us. Everyone can eat as much as they want!"

"Great!"

"Thank you, Longye-nii!"

Ai Haibara quietly gazed at Tatsuno's face, seemingly still lost in the scene of "Tatsuno playing with the big bear".

……

One week later, on the morning

Snowflakes blanketed the earth.

Looking at the snowflakes outside the window, Ran drank her milk and looked at Ryuno: "Ryuno, it's snowing quite heavily today. Why don't you go pick up Ai after school?"

"My mom said she suddenly has some free time today and wants to take me to the mall to pick out some winter clothes. I don't need to wait for dinner."

"Okay~"

At this moment, Ai swallowed the bread in her mouth and said calmly, "It's okay, I can walk back by myself."

Hearing this, Xiaolan patted her head: "Ai, we're your older brothers and sisters. It's okay for you to rely on us a little more~"

Seeing Ran's gentle face, Ai Haibara blushed and whispered, "Mmm..."

Ryūno clearly saw that, for a fleeting moment, the corners of Ai Haibara's mouth curled up into a small smile.

……

After school

Ryūno arrived at the entrance of Teitan Elementary School on time.

Soon after, several familiar voices rang out: "Look, it's Brother Longye!"

"Ah, I know. He must be here to pick up Ai Haibara!"

"..."

After saying goodbye to Conan and the others, Ryuno led Ai Haibara away in the opposite direction.

Seeing Ai Haibara looking dejected beside him, Tatsuno asked, "What's wrong, Ai? You seem a bit down lately."

Upon hearing this, Ai Haibara looked up at Tatsuno and shook her head.

Seeing Ai Haibara shake her head, Tatsuno suddenly smiled and slowly said, "Do you perhaps feel that this is not a place for you, and that you cannot live this kind of life?"

Upon hearing Ryuno's words, Ai Haibara immediately looked at him in shock.

Before she could recover, Longye spoke again: "Don't worry, you won't implicate us."

Upon hearing this, Ai Haibara immediately froze on the spot.

If the first sentence was still somewhat ambiguous...

The second sentence at this point...

Thinking of this, Ai Haibara looked intently at Tatsuno.

This! Could it be that he really knows about my affairs?!

Although she knew she had underestimated Longye, this was just too exaggerated!

Does Longye really know his origins and true identity, and also know about the black-clad organization?

No, that's impossible!

He was just an ordinary high school student…

Just as she thought of this, images of Longye tearing down the door with his bare hands and playing with a bear suddenly appeared in her mind.

Hmm... he's probably just a not-so-ordinary high school student...

Before she could think any further, Longye suddenly grabbed her hand, his expression excited, and said, "Come quick, I saw something fun!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Longye led her to a car.

Her expression immediately changed when she saw the black Porsche 356A in front of her.

Seeing Ryūno prying open the car door with a wire, she clutched her chest and cried out in fear, "Run! This...this is Gin's car..."

Just then, Ryūno pried open the car door and pulled Ai Haibara into the car.

"I know, it's just Gin's car. No need to make a fuss~"

After listening to Ryūno's words, Ai Haibara was filled with many thoughts.

In his dream, Ryūno and Ran were shot to death by Gin countless times.

Just seeing this car made her feel extremely dangerous.

No! We absolutely cannot let those two get involved!

These are my only remaining family members...

Just as her thoughts were racing, Longye's movements startled her awake.

He appears to be putting something into the car.

Not long after, Longye led her out of the car and locked the door behind him.

This action was clearly beyond Ai Haibara's comprehension, and she stared blankly at Ryuno the entire time.

Noticing Ai Haibara's expression, Tatsuno took her hand and continued leading her towards home.

……

Tatsuno family

Ryūno and Ai Haibara sat silently on the sofa.

The two remained silent throughout the journey, neither of them uttering a word.

This eerie atmosphere lasted for a while.

Ai Haibara finally mustered the courage to look Tatsuno in the eyes: "Tatsuno, you..."

"Shh~ Don't say anything yet. The show is about to begin!"

To Ai Haibara's astonishment, Tatsuno pulled out a bunch of unknown props and two pairs of headphones from under the sofa.

Then, Longye put one of the headphones on his head.

Her pupils constricted upon hearing the voice coming from the earphones.

"Yes, it's me. How are things on your end?"

"What? The target hasn't arrived yet? Don't worry, the target will appear at Beihu Hotel precisely at 6 PM."

He didn't know that today was also his memorial service.